Boston Market Better Off than Most?

At least one analyst thinks the Boston housing market is better positioned for a recovery than other areas of the country, according to an article in the January 21 Banker & Tradesman.

Economist Robert Denk predicts that income growth and low unemployment will help the Boston market rebound. "The key fundadmental drivers for housing are income, employment, and population," Denk said. "If you're not doing disastrously bad on any of those points, then you're going to have a solid housing market."

According to Denk, the markets that will struggle the most are those that saw extreme price growth in short amounts of time, as well as heavy sub-prime lending, such as California, Florida, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. While the Boston area did see a sharp increase in prices over the last decade, those increases still pale in comparison to other areas of the country, which experienced gains of up to 20% PER YEAR.

Denk also cautioned against paying too much attention to national real estate trends and statistcs. "What's going in national trends is important, and it's valuable, and it's meaningful, but it's not always going to help people in the local markets to really understand what's going on there."

If you're thinking of buying or selling on the South Shore in 2008, give The Stikeleather Team a call. We'd be happy to meet with you to discuss what's happening right now in our local market, and to answer any other questions you may have.